


No One's Prince

by Sylver_deClermont



Series: Elysium [1]
Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Romance, Vampires, Witches, post-Time's Convert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylver_deClermont/pseuds/Sylver_deClermont
Summary: Baldwin de Clermont ends yet another relationship, but has he made a mistake this time?  Will a rival vampire take advantage of the situation?   (Baldwin/OC)
Relationships: Baldwin Clairmont/Original Character(s), Baldwin Montclair/OC, Baldwin de Clermont/OC, Diana Bishop/Matthew Clairmont, Marcus Whitmore/Phoebe Taylor
Series: Elysium [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708459
Comments: 15
Kudos: 87
Collections: A discovery of witches





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the events of Time's Convert.
> 
> ~
> 
> Special thanks to my sister, SiriuslySmittenKitten, for the many chats and encouragement.

Estella’s eyes bore into his, searching for something, anything that would tell her he was lying. The emptiness she found went straight to her heart.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “I thought….”

“Thought what?” he asked. “That I would fall madly in love with you? Be your charming prince? I’m no one’s prince.”

“And I’m not a child.” She bit out the words.

“Oh, but you are,” he said. “And I am through with this conversation.”

As he turned his back on her, she made one last, desperate attempt to stop him. “You won’t forget me,” she said.

Baldwin pivoted slowly and smiled, but it didn’t hold any of the warmth she had known. It was cold, vicious.

“That’s the thing about humans,” he said. “They grow old and die. In the centuries to come, I will have forgotten all about you.”

She had no choice but to watch as he walked away, leaving her on the street outside her apartment. He had tried to end things quietly, in her living room, but the moment he tried to leave, she followed him out into the cold in a blind refusal to let him go.

Tears streamed down her face as his shadowed form disappeared into the night. When she could see him no longer, she climbed the few steps to her Cambridge apartment and went back inside.

Her alarm went off the next morning, startling her into consciousness. Sitting straight up in bed, she discovered the source of the sound and reached across to the nightstand to grab her phone and turn it off. As she laid back down, she sighed, the unpleasantness of the previous night cascading over her. She had cried herself to sleep, and she had the headache to prove it. The white t-shirt she wore still carried Baldwin’s distinct scent – a roaring, winter fire mixed with full grain leather. He had left it behind on his previous visit, and, for some insane reason, she had thought it would comfort her to wear it. Even now she craved him, as she buried her face in the pillow she thought of as his.

Reluctantly getting out of bed, she retraced the events leading up to his dismissal of her, searching for any sign that he had changed his mind about their relationship. Or, well, their … _involvement_. He had never called it a relationship. Only she had thought of it that way.

It had begun six months prior when he had walked into her lab. Her boss, Dr. Marcus Whitmore, had bought a building and set up his own private lab in Harvard Square so that he could continue work he had been doing in New Haven at Yale. His friend, Chris, had called him a “traitor” for choosing Harvard crimson over Yale blue, and Marcus had quipped that, as a vampire, crimson suited him.

Estella had learned about vampires on her first day. After signing an iron-clad non-disclosure agreement, she was allowed in on the research thus far. Her world had expanded a thousandfold with the revelation that creatures existed: vampires, witches, and daemons. Her doctorate in bio-chemistry made her a prime candidate for the job, and Marcus had approached her, along with his friend and colleague, Miriam, at a café in Harvard Square. Intrigued by the secrecy surrounding the project, she signed on immediately.

She had been working with Marcus for nearly a year when he arrived. Baldwin Montclair had walked in like he owned the place, his presence pulling her in like a magnet.

“Estella Thorne,” she said, walking straight up to him and extending her hand.

Marcus jumped in quickly. “Estella, this is my uncle.”

The vampire regarded her with obvious intrigue. Slowly, he reached out and took her hand. “Baldwin Montclair,” he said. “It’s a pleasure, Dr. Thorne.”

She shivered at his cool touch – or was it the sound of his voice? Either way, he noticed … and smiled.

“Uncle?” Estella questioned.

“Yes, my father…” Marcus began.

“Is my step-brother,” Baldwin finished.

“It’s just that … you don’t look that much older than Marcus,” she explained, knowing as she said the words how silly she sounded.

Baldwin laughed. The sound caused her heart to race.

“It’s nice to hear that,” he said. “I have nearly two thousand years on him, though.”

Estella’s eyes widened. It was unfathomable, and she had so many questions. Smiling, she said, “Well, we’re glad to have you with us. It’s wonderful to meet another member of Marcus’s family. Most everyone else has already donated their DNA to our cause.”

“I resisted as long as I could,” Baldwin said.

“My father demanded his cooperation,” Marcus said with a laugh.

“Yes, and you know how I respond to his demands,” Baldwin added.

Marcus nodded. “Much the same as he responds to yours.”

Estella was in stitches at their banter. “Definitely brothers,” she said.

Baldwin rolled his eyes and smiled at her before turning to Marcus. “Should I roll up a sleeve?”

“I have everything set up just over here,” Estella said. “Let’s sit.”

Baldwin followed her, and Marcus shook his head.

As he sat down, Baldwin removed his suit jacket and loosened his tie. He rolled up his left sleeve, and Estella took his arm to look for a vein. He made a fist without being asked, and she looked up to find his eyes on her. She smiled and ran her finger carefully over the streak of blue beneath the pale skin. Then she reached for her tools, tying a tourniquet above his elbow, swabbing the spot with alcohol and then picking up her needle. Her technique was flawless, and within a minute, she had drawn two of the five vials they needed.

“So, what made you agree to this?” she couldn’t help asking.

Baldwin sighed. “My sister, Diana. Matthew’s wife. She … coaxed me into it, convinced me that it was important for the research of our species.”

“She must be very persuasive,” Estella said.

Baldwin chuckled under his breath. “You have no idea. Honestly, sometimes it’s easier to just give in than listen to her go on.”

Estella laughed with him. “All done,” she said as she put down the last vial. She removed the tourniquet and grabbed a cotton ball and a bandage.

He held his hand up to stop her. “I can assure you I don’t need that.”

She looked up at him in surprise, then looked back down to find the spot already healed. Gasping, she touched the flawless skin in disbelief. When she looked back at him, the corner of his mouth had risen with amusement.

“Right,” she said. “Vampire. I forget.”

“I had thought this might take longer,” he said.

“Nope,” she said. “Only five minutes or so … if you have someone who’s good at their job.”

“Not that you’re bragging,” he said.

She laughed. “I absolutely am.”

He smiled at her. “Have dinner with me.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Are you taking me hunting?”

Still meeting her gaze, he sighed, and she could’ve sworn she heard him growl.

“I can secure a reservation anywhere in the city,” he said. “Where would you like to go?”

She narrowed her eyes. There was no way he was getting a reservation that night for the one place she had been dying to try. “La Muse,” she said.

He smiled slyly and took out his phone. Someone picked up almost immediately. “This is Baldwin Montclair,” he said, and after that it took him all of twenty seconds to get the chef on the phone. Another thirty seconds and he had a reservation for two at seven thirty. As he offered his most sincere gratitude and ended the call, Estella became aware that she was not only staring at him but her mouth was gaping. Closing it, she regained her composure and stared him down.

“Now who’s bragging?” she asked.

“That wasn’t bragging,” he said.

“Then what was it?” she countered.

“Impressing you,” he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baldwin takes Estella to dinner.

Baldwin arrived at Estella’s Kendall Square apartment precisely at seven o’clock. He was dressed in a dark gray suit with a deep blue tie, his copper hair perfectly coiffed, his muscular frame taut beneath the expensive fabric. Instantly she noticed that his scent was more intense than it had been in the lab, which she attributed to the more relaxed atmosphere.

“You are absolutely perfect,” he declared as he looked her over.

Estella had changed her outfit at least five times, finally settling on a claret-colored, knee-length dress that flattered the curve of her hips and accentuated her bosom. Staring at herself in the mirror just before his arrival, she had wondered about the amount of cleavage she was putting on display, deciding in the end to just go with it, basically because she didn’t have time to change again. Her dark, coffee-colored hair spilled in flawless waves to the middle of her back. She wore it up every day in the lab, so a chance to set it free was always welcome.

“Thank you,” she said. “So are you.”

He smiled and offered her his arm.

They arrived at the restaurant in the Seaport District right on time and were immediately shown to a table for two in a private room. Baldwin pulled out her chair for her, and she gave him a smile in thanks.

The food was like a dream to Estella – small dishes, arranged in the most artistic ways, cooked to perfection, with flavors that she had never even imagined.

Their server didn’t blink an eye when Baldwin ordered his entrée, and the blood pooling on the plate beneath the slivers of practically raw meat had her staring at him, watching intently as he took up his knife and fork. He turned his eyes to meet hers, deliberately eating the tender slice on his fork as slowly as possible. She just smiled and shook her head.

“So, tell me something about yourself,” she said.

Baldwin took a sip of his wine, cutting his eyes at her around the side of the glass. “What would you like to know?”

“I know Marcus is cautious about what he shares. I imagine you’re the same?”

“I am, but I’m feeling a bit … generous this evening.”

She desperately tried to hide her surprise at his choice of words, but she knew that her heart rate and the sudden _tingling_ she felt would give her away.”

Sure enough, he raised an eyebrow, inhaled ever so slightly … and smirked.

 _Bastard_ , she thought. _So much for playing it cool._

“When were you born?” she asked, moving the subject back to where she was comfortable.

“Which time?” he whispered.

“Both,” she said.

“82 BC. Then 52 BC.”

“So young,” she said.

He laughed. “Not back then.”

“You and I are about the same age,” she said, adding with a laugh, “at least, you were. Oh, the things you must’ve done.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said.

“Roman?” she guessed.

“I was a soldier in the Empire,” he confirmed.

“Did you stab Caesar?”

He nearly choked on his wine. “Absolutely not. If I had done it, there would have been one blade, one wound. Such a disastrously sloppy affair.”

Estella giggled in surprise, and Baldwin’s expression softened.

“My apologies,” he said. “I sometimes get a little carried away.”

“Do you?” she asked. This time, she had been the one to maneuver the conversation into murky waters, and she was not sorry.

He smiled, and she felt the tingling once more.

“So, what do you do these days?” she asked.

“Stocks,” he said. “Investment banking.”

She nodded. “I see. So you still enjoy it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Enjoy what?”

“Conquering the world.”

This time, she was sure she heard him growl.

“Thank you,” she said as she unlocked the door to her apartment. “That was probably the most incredible meal of my life.”

“You’re welcome. I had a wonderful time,” he said.

“How long are you in town for?” she asked, praying she didn’t sound as desperate as she felt.

“Just until Monday,” he replied. “After that, I’m back in London for a while.”

“Any plans to return to Boston?” _Okay,_ that _sounded a little desperate._

He smiled. “Good night, Estella.”

As he turned to leave, she reached out and touched his arm, and he turned back, glancing down at her hand before meeting her gaze.

“Stay,” she whispered. “Please.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re asking?” His voice was low, heavy.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she gave him a slight smile.

Immediately, she found herself in his arms, and she gasped at both the suddenness of it and the grace with which he moved.

She reached behind to turn the knob. The moment the door was open, she felt her feet leave the ground as he carried her inside. Then he spun around, pinning her against the door as it closed again.

He stared into her eyes, and she smiled at him, putting her feet back on the ground and turning to lock the door. Then she walked toward her bedroom, stopping in the doorway to look back at him. In a heartbeat, he was an inch away from her. He pulled her close again, and his mouth descended on hers. She gasped once more at the power behind his kiss, and he seized the opportunity to seek out her tongue with his own.

She marveled at how effortlessly he removed her dress, and she wished she could have been as smooth at getting him out of his suit.

He laid her on the bed and pulled down her black lace knickers with both hands. Then he fell to his knees in front of her, his mouth seeking out her core.

Her eyes widened as she felt him breathe her in, and she looked down to find him grinning wickedly at her.

“Your scent has tormented me all evening,” he admitted.

She smirked. “Only because _you_ were tormenting _me_.”

He lifted her leg and wrapped his arm around her thigh, his hand gripping her ass with fierce dominance. His tongue dove inside her, and she wrapped her fingers in his hair, losing herself in the sensations he brought her. Soon, he withdrew his tongue and replaced it with two fingers, curling inside her and stroking her perfectly. His mouth moved to her swollen nub, and he began to suck delicately.

Her breath quickened. One hand grasped the sheets while the other twisted and tugged at his hair in desperation. When she came, it tore through her with a force she had never known before, and she smiled as she thought that every other man she had ever known was a fucking amateur.

She looked down to discover Baldwin watching her intently, his delicious, wicked grin having returned. He put one arm across her, his fist on the bed and started to climb up over her body.

Falling to his side, he pulled her against him. She could feel him hard against her belly, and her eyes widened. He wrapped his arm under her leg again and lifted it. Suddenly, he was against her entrance, pushing upward ever so slightly.

Their eyes were locked as he slowly, maddeningly entered her deeper and deeper until he was buried within, their bodies joined to perfection.

She was captivated as he started to move, hitting her again in just the right spot, over and over. She closed her eyes and she felt his mouth on her neck, kissing and nipping at her skin. He could have bitten her and drank his fill, and she would have let him. All her senses were wrapped up in him, lost in him.

He made sure that she came again, first. And as she fell over the edge, he let go, spilling himself deep within her.

They lay entwined for ages afterward, having moved to the pillows and wrapped up in the sheets. Baldwin reverently kissed his way over every inch of her, and as she felt him, hard as steel again against her skin, she knew she couldn’t sleep if she tried.

Suddenly, uncontrollably, she laughed. He stopped what he was doing and looked up at her slowly.

She clamped her hands over her mouth but laughed again. “I’m so sorry, Baldwin. It’s not you…. I just … had the stupidest thought.”

“Go on,” he said.

“It’s stupid.”

“So you’ve said.” She could hear the slight exasperation in his tone, and she knew she’d better tell him. She prayed she hadn’t ruined everything.

“It’s just…. It’s a little late to be thinking of this, but I don’t suppose … I need to worry about … protection with you.”

He sighed. And smiled. “That’s one of the perks, I suppose.”

She nodded. “What are the other perks?”

“Centuries of experience,” he said as he plunged inside her, burying himself to the hilt in one stroke.

The following morning, he gave her explicit instructions not to get dressed or leave the bed, then returned to his hotel, gathered his belongings, and checked out. He was back in her arms within two hours, and there he stayed for the rest of the weekend.

Monday morning when she woke, she found him showered and dressed, fastening his watch to his wrist.

“Were you leaving?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I wasn’t going to sneak away,” he said. “But it is time that I returned to London.”

Strangely, her heart ached. She wasn’t ready to give him up. Still, she pretended to be a big girl about it, getting on her knees and beckoning him over to the bed. He eyed her suspiciously but did as she requested.

Rather than pulling him in for a kiss, she reached out and straightened his tie.

His deep, amber eyes bore into hers. Even though she was naked, he did not look down.

“Off to destroy someone’s empire?”

Baldwin smiled slyly. “Always.”

She placed a chaste kiss on his mouth. “Have fun.” She got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom, but as she passed him, he captured her.

“What?” She smiled.

He kissed her slowly, lingering, and she moaned into his mouth as she wrapped her fingers in his hair. When he let her go, she stared him down.

“Thank you for a truly remarkable weekend, Mr. Montclair,” she said.

He kissed the back of her hand. “It was my pleasure, Dr. Thorne.”

As she walked to the Kendall Square station that morning, she realized she had no idea if she would ever see him again.

~

Marcus got to the lab a half hour after her that morning. She was already beginning the process of working with Baldwin’s extracted blood samples when he walked in. He stopped short, his sneaker squeaking against the pristine tile floor. She looked up just in time to see his nostrils flare and his eyes widen. The corners of his mouth began to slowly creep upward until she was sure they would circumnavigate his head.  


“No,” she said. “Son of a bitch! I showered three times this morning!”

“Should’ve gone for five,” Marcus said. His nostrils flared one more time before he added, “Or ten. Should I check you for bite marks?”

“Christ, how long does it take for a vampire’s scent to go away?” she asked desperately.

“If you never see him again, then _maybe_ you might one day be free of it.”

She nodded. “That’s good to know, because I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”

Marcus squinted at her and reached for his phone. He pressed a contact button and put it to his ear.

“Hi, Uncle!” he said excitedly, and Estella’s heart skipped. “Yes, I’m in a wonderful mood today. How are you?” Marcus paused to listen. Estella couldn’t hear anything Baldwin said, though she tried. “Good, that’s good. I just wanted to thank you again for helping us out.” Another pause. “Really? That would be very helpful, thank you. I’ll let you know. Safe travels.” He ended the call and looked back at her, his eyebrows raised.

“What?” she asked.

“I think you’re going to see him again.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he said he’d be ‘happy to help’ again if he’s needed.”

She sighed. “Christ….” Inside, however, butterflies had taken up residence in her gut.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Estella's involvement with Baldwin continues.

A month passed with nothing from Baldwin. She thought of him often – particularly while studying his DNA – but she was happy that he hadn’t completely dominated her life. If she had been pining for him after one weekend, she would have been mortified.

Then one day her phone rang, the number completely foreign to her. “Hello?” she answered cautiously.

“Estella.” The deep, male voice caught her off guard. It took a couple of seconds to compose herself.

“How did you get my number?” she asked him.

“It’s not important,” Baldwin said. “I’m on a flight to Boston, and I wondered if I could see you.”

“You’re on a flight right now?”

He chuckled softly. “Is this an inconvenient time?”

“It might be,” she said. “I might have plans. A little advance notice would have been nice.”

“I apologize,” he said sincerely. “My business plans changed suddenly, and there wasn’t much of an opportunity to phone before now. I give you my word that next time you will have a chance to plan for my arrival.”

“Next time?” Her heart leapt.

Three hours later, he was at her door, and she was dragging him inside as he took off her clothes.

This time, he stayed for a week.

During the day, she went to work at the lab, and he attended to his own business dealings. At night, he returned to her apartment to find her cooking dinner for herself, with a bottle of Bordeaux just for him sitting on the kitchen counter. She had to admit she loved it when he walked through her door.

She found herself staying up with him well into the night, telling him about her childhood. He was suddenly so full of questions for her, and he listened intently to every word.

“My mother and grandmother raised me,” she told him.

“And your father?” he asked.

“Was never a part of my life,” she said. “He split just after my mother told him she was pregnant. He may have said something to her about getting rid of me. I’m not sure. She would never have told me if he did. It’s just a hunch I’ve always had.”

“She fought for you,” Baldwin stated.

“Every single day.” Estella smiled at the thought. “She still lived at home with my grandmother, so that’s where we stayed. Mom worked … all the time. Most of the time, she had two jobs. Sometimes three, if she was trying to save extra money for the holidays or something. We didn’t have much, but I was surrounded by love. They wanted to make sure I never felt like something was missing.” Estella looked down, and Baldwin touched her chin gently, encouraging her to tell him more.

“I lost them both,” she said. Her mother’s death had been unexpected. A car accident when Estella was seventeen. Her grandmother’s death six years later was not unexpected. “After that, I just stayed focused, worked my way through school, got my PhD, and here I am … working on a project I never could’ve imagined.”

She looked up into Baldwin’s eyes and found so much warmth and compassion. She smiled at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You, Mr. Montclair. You are a constant surprise to me.” He ran his hand through her hair, and she melted into him. “Why are you here with me now? Why are you in my bed every night? I don’t expect you to be, and yet, here you are.”

Baldwin ran his hand down the middle of her chest and over her belly. She gasped as he reached even lower, and she arched into his touch. His eyes never left hers.

“I have no explanation,” he said, his voice low. “There is only the desire to spend every moment I can with you.”

She smiled. “I’ll take every moment you want to give me.”

He crushed his mouth to hers and held her wrist in his left hand. With her free hand, she ran her fingertips over his skin as he explored her body. Soon, he took both her wrists, holding them tightly over her head.  


“Your touch is distracting,” he chastized.

She chuckled lightly. “Good.”

His eyes narrowed, a hint of anger in them. “Why can’t you simply allow me to please you?”

“Because I need to please you, too,” she said. “Now we can fight about it, or….”

Before she could finish her sentence, he pulled her on top of him. She cried out in pleasure and surprise as he filled her completely. He was so damn good at that.

“Move,” he commanded.

She did as told, giving him what she knew he wanted, moving faster, working into a perfect rhythm. The delightful friction he created inside her set her aflame. His name came out of her in a ragged breath, and she was sure it was this that led to his own end, as she felt it inside a moment later.

As promised, the following month he gave her two days’ notice. Marcus teased her mercilessly, but she no longer minded. After the third visit, he said to her, “There’s no getting rid of his scent now. He’s marked you. You belong to him.”

She stared at him incredulous. “That’s absurd. We’re just….”

“Fuck buddies?” he concluded.

“Marcus!” she exclaimed.

“He may have you convinced of that, but I wouldn’t try dating anyone else, if I were you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if he smells another man on you, he might lose it, and trust me, you don’t want that.”

She took Marcus’s warnings to heart. And she had to admit she liked the idea of belonging to Baldwin. Besides, any man she met now would pale in comparison. He was witty and charming, beautiful and powerful. He loved to be in control and sometimes she even allowed him to be. She was learning what she could about vampire customs, and the tiny morsels of information she could get out of Marcus about the de Clermont family thrilled her to no end. She allowed herself to get caught up in a dream where she belonged to him for the rest of her life.

The next time she saw him, she found herself standing in the cold, watching him walk away for the last time.

~

On the morning after, Marcus was already in the lab when she arrived. “You look like hell,” he said. “How much fun did you have last night?”

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice suddenly protective.

“It’s over,” she said plainly. “He ended it.”

He shook his head in confusion. “Why?”

“He grew tired of me? I don’t know. He didn’t give me a reason.”

“That utter bastard,” Marcus swore.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay. We have work to do, and I’m not one to dwell on these things.”

“I’m sure I can get Phoebe to talk to him,” he went on. Marcus’s mate, Phoebe, was in London cataloguing Baldwin’s collection of art. From there, she would move on to his collections in Paris, Prague, Venice.

“Please, no,” Estella begged. “I don’t want his reasons. I don’t want anything from him.”

Marcus looked at her sympathetically and nodded. Refocusing on his unfinished task, he and Estella got to work.

~

Almost immediately, Estella found herself arriving early and working late. She spent a couple of nights on the couch in her office. Going home had become the most difficult task in the world. Baldwin’s presence had begun to fade, but she still did her best to avoid it.

Any time she didn’t have work to focus her mind, she found herself aching for him, and she couldn’t understand why.

“What did you do to me?” she said aloud one morning in the shower as the hot water poured over her, her hands against the wall, bracing herself.

She checked her phone sometimes without even thinking, looking for a missed call that would never come. After a month, she deleted his number.

She was sitting alone in the break room one day preparing to eat her lunch when Marcus walked by and stopped in the doorway.

“Get out,” he said.

Estella looked up at him with a small chuckle. “Excuse me?”

“Out of the office. Out of the _building_. You need fresh air.”

“I walk to and from the ‘T’ twice a day. I get fresh air.”

Marcus nodded, “Except for those days where you _don’t_. Estella, you need to take care of yourself. You’re alone all the time. You need to get back out there. It’s the only way to let go and move on.”

She looked down at the table. “I don’t want to move on.” Looking up at him, there was desperation in her eyes. “Why don’t I want to move on?”

Marcus sighed, his lips pursed tightly.

“You know, but you won’t tell me. I get it. Not your tale to tell. Well, maybe you can answer this for me. Did I love him?”

Again, he sighed. “I’m not the one to tell you what you’re feeling,” he said. “You have to figure that out on your own.”

“I’m afraid that I did,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes. “It scares me to death how much I might have loved him.” A thought rushed through her head, and she couldn’t hold it inside. “I wonder if he would have loved me if I had been a vampire.”

“You’ll kill yourself asking questions like that,” Marcus said, finally stepping into the room and sitting next to her. Sighing a third time, he opened his mouth and said something she never would have expected from him. “I’ve been a de Clermont for over two hundred years, Estella, and I have never seen him show love for any woman.”

A single tear fell, and she wiped the traitor away without a moment’s thought.

“Tomorrow,” she conceded. “I’ll go out tomorrow. Okay?”

The next day, she did as promised. She went out to a sandwich shop and took her food to the center of Harvard Square. She found a place to sit beneath a tree and followed Marcus’s orders.

As she ate, a pair of black boots stepped into view just in front of her.

“Hello.” The voice was deep, accented.

She looked up, following the boots to the dark jeans, the long black coat, up to one of the handsomest faces she had ever seen. His eyes were so dark she was certain they could swallow her whole. His flawless skin, the most gorgeous shade of olive. His hair was made up of the most perfect brown curls. His scent….

“You’re a vampire,” she said before she could stop herself.

He smiled and looked around, presumably checking to see if anyone else had heard her.

“You’re good,” he said. He gestured to the ground next to her. “May I?”

“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not interested.” Christ, was she a vampire magnet now?

Again, he smiled. “It’s okay. I’m not looking to date you.”

Her eyebrow raised. “Then, forgive my bad manners, but what do you want?”

“I believe the question is, what do _you_ want, Miss Thorne.”

She stared at him in response.

“Domenico Michele,” he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domenico has a proposal for Estella.

“Exactly how do you know who I am?” she asked, her guard up.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” Domenico admitted. “Baldwin de Clermont’s scent is very … distinctive. You caught my attention.”

“I see,” she said. “And you visit Boston often?” His heavily accented voice and exclusively European demeanor suggested otherwise, and she wondered how long he’d been stalking them.

“I’ve been here a few times,” he replied.

“Mr. Michele….”

“Domenico, please.”

She stood up then and moved close to him. She lowered her voice significantly.

“Mr. Michele, I don’t know why you’re interested in Baldwin, but I haven’t seen him in over a month. I’m sure you’ll realize that if you just take another deep breath.”

The closer she got to him, the more empowered she felt. And maybe, just maybe, she intimidated him a little.

Domenico leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “I’m not interested in him. I’m interested in the mess he left behind.”

The words tore at her heart, but, defiantly, she would not divert her gaze.

“The pain he caused is palpable,” he went on. “It radiates all around you. I have a solution, if you’re interested.”

“Go on.” She bit out the words.

He slipped something into her coat pocket. “Meet me tonight. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

As he turned his back on her to walk away, she finally looked down and lifted the item out of her pocket. It was a business card for the Charles Hotel just a couple of blocks away. On the back, he had written his room number. When she looked up again, he was gone.

Upon returning to the lab, she knew the first thing she should have done was tell Marcus about her encounter. Domenico, remarkably, had not touched her skin in any way when he had put the card in her pocket, and she had promptly moved it to her bag and hidden it away. The fact that Marcus most likely wouldn’t be able to sense the other vampire was the one thing that determined her silence on the matter, and she was suddenly aware that Domenico had been one step ahead.

By the time she left the lab that evening, there was nothing in the world that could have stopped her from going to that hotel room.

With every ounce of courage she had, she reached up to knock on the door, but before her knuckles met the wood, it opened. He had heard her coming.

She rolled her eyes. “Ugh, vampires.”

He chuckled under his breath. “Please come in, Miss Thorne.”

“Estella,” she said as she walked inside.

He met her gaze with obvious surprise and gave her a small nod.

“Estella,” he repeated. The chills she felt crept over her entire body.

“So what is it?” she asked. “You seduce me and rid me of this cursed scent that still follows me everywhere?”

He smiled warmly. “You love him.”

She clenched her jaw. “I thought we’d pretty much established that.”

“And he loves you.”

These were words she had not expected to hear. They left her reeling, and she struggled to regain her composure.

Laughing, she said, “You must not know him.”

“Oh, I know Baldwin de Clermont better than he knows himself. When I saw him in Venice last month, there was one, deafening change in him. I couldn’t ignore it if I tried. Having seen you together before, I knew at once that it was you.”

“Yeah, and you know that was when he left me.”

“He left you because he couldn’t have you.”

“I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he knew that I was his if he wanted me.”

Domenico stood rooted to the spot, his eyes entrancing her.

“He couldn’t have you by his side, as his mate, for the rest of his life.”

“What?” she whispered.

“He can’t turn you himself. You would become his daughter. He doesn’t have another vampire he could ask, the way that precious Marcus did with his mate. And above all, he can’t admit to himself that he loves anyone that much. That would be a weakness, you see. But if there were someone else,” he went on, walking around to stand behind her. “Someone who could do it for him.”

Estella could feel his breath on her neck. He was drawing her in. A few more moments and she knew she’d be lost. She turned her head to the side, leaning in closer to him.

“Are you saying you would do it?” she asked softly.

He leaned down, his mouth at her ear. “I would.”

She didn’t speak for a long while. The vampire behind her did not move an inch.

Finally, she said, “I would be your daughter.”

“Yes.”

“I would belong to you.”

“Until I give you to him.”

“And what guarantee do I have that you will do any such thing?”

He smiled. “You don’t … clever girl.”

She stepped out of the invisible cocoon he had wrapped her in and turned to face him.

“Why would you do this for us?”

Domenico thought for a minute, clearly not anticipating the question. When he spoke, he smiled. “You intrigue me. No woman has ever found her way under his skin, so I had to see you for myself. You are intelligent, brave, and immeasurably sad. I don’t want that for you. I want to see you fulfill your potential. For that you will need time, a luxury that humans don’t have.”

She paused again, considering all the necessary things. “I’ll need to leave my job.” There was no way she could tell Marcus about this. “Would I have to go with you?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “Venice is my domain. All my children live there.”

“When would I see Baldwin again?” Her voice broke as she said his name.

“Once you are a fledgling and capable of standing on your own. It will take time, little one.”

Time, she thought. She would have all the time in the world. If only she had the courage to try.

“I’ll tell Marcus I have to resign. I’ll make the arrangements to move out of my apartment, put my things in storage.”

“Someone will arrive tomorrow to help you pack,” Domenico offered. “You will leave for Venice within the week.”

She nodded.

“Then you accept?” he asked her.

She stared deep into his impossibly dark eyes. “I accept.”

~

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Baldwin spoke slowly into the phone, his deep voice edged with barely contained rage.

“Two weeks ago she resigned. Told me she had to move on,” Marcus explained. “Because of _you_.”

Baldwin ignored the accusation. “And you just let her go.” It wasn’t a question.

“She’s a grown woman, Baldwin. She has every right to move forward and try to forget that we exist.” Marcus’s voice dropped. “You have no idea what you did to her.”

Baldwin was silent. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, desperate to focus on the one important thing in front of him. “Was there any sign in her apartment? Anything I can use as a clue?”

“It was emptied in a hurry,” Marcus told him. “But it _was_ empty. Nothing left behind. If you want to go through it yourself, you should get here. Fast. Apartments in Cambridge get turned around pretty quickly.”

“I’ll be on a flight momentarily. Meet me at her building. And, Marcus?” Baldwin took a deep breath. “I will find her.”

Marcus sighed and ended the call.

Early that evening, Marcus was waiting when Baldwin arrived. The younger vampire led him up the stairs and into the empty apartment. Marcus had picked the lock easily, just as he had before, and the two of them stealthily went through each room.

Baldwin gazed intently at every corner, every speck on the floor. He soon rushed over to the corner where she had kept her television.

“A man’s footprint,” he said, bending down to touch the dust. He lifted his fingers in front of his face breathing in deeply.

“Human?” Marcus asked him, his voice so low only Baldwin could hear.

Baldwin stood and looked at him, his eyes murderous. He shook his head.

“Vampire?” Marcus’s eyes widened.

Baldwin moved so fast he would have been imperceptible to human eyes. He searched carefully for more to go on. No walls had been touched. There was nothing but that infinitesimal clue of who had done the job. He took out his phone and placed a call.

“I need to know if a passport was recently used,” he said calmly. “American. Thorne, Estella Margaret.”

Despite the urgency of the moment, Marcus couldn’t help smiling over something so simple as the fact that Baldwin de Clermont knew a woman’s middle name.

“Thank you,” Baldwin said as he hung up. “Fuck!”

“What?” Marcus asked him.

“Venice. She landed almost a week ago.”

“Do you think she was taken?”

“No, there was no struggle here. This took convincing. Finesse,” Baldwin said.

“Domenico,” Marcus concluded.

“I will kill him,” Baldwin promised.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baldwin and Marcus search for Estella.

“I don’t need your help, Nephew,” Baldwin said as Marcus followed him across the tarmac to the private jet that was waiting.

“Yes, you do, _Uncle_ ,” Marcus countered. “If Domenico has interfered with a human life, a human who was under _my_ protection, the Knights of Lazarus will stand against him.”

Baldwin chuckled as they stepped aboard and took their seats. The engines had started. They would be airborne in minutes. “You and Matthew,” he said. “Always ready to rally the Knights. You underestimate me.”

“I know you can take Domenico,” Marcus said. “But he has many children. You will have a fight on your hands, and how many can you take on alone? Ten? Fifteen? They will overrun you and kill you.”

Baldwin sighed and looked out the window. They had taxied to the runway and were now speeding toward takeoff.

“You and I will go,” Baldwin said, falling back into the role of de Clermont family strategist. “We will _inquire_ if he has seen her.”

“And if he lies?”

Baldwin smiled as the plane climbed the sky. “I suppose I’ll improvise.”

It was mid-morning when they landed in Venice. A water taxi awaited them, and they made their way as close as they dared to Domenico’s home. Once on foot, they headed straight for his front door.

“Any last orders?” Marcus asked as they waited.

“Follow my lead,” Baldwin replied.

The door was opened by a member of Domenico’s household staff, a thin, almost elderly vampire Baldwin had met before.

“ _Buongiorno_ , Alessandro,” Baldwin said with a smile. “May we speak with your master?”

Alessandro stepped back and opened the door, gesturing for them to enter. “This way, _signore_.”

The de Clermont men walked into a large open room, with a second floor balcony that circled the perimeter. An enormous chandelier hung from the dead center of the vaulted ceiling, just above a grand, marble staircase. The heavy, brown, wooden doors to every upstairs room were closed, and Baldwin wondered what lurked beyond them.

“Baldwin.” A smooth, deep voice came from above and echoed off the walls. “And Marcus. What a pleasant surprise.” Domenico stood on the second floor balcony looking down at them with a coy smile. “What can I do for you?”

“Marcus’s colleague, Dr. Thorne, has vanished,” Baldwin said.

Domenico paused, staring them down. He shook his head. “I’m confused. You think I might have seen her?”

Baldwin grinned. “I didn’t say Dr. Thorne was a woman.”

Marcus cut his eyes at his uncle in surprise, while Domenico narrowed his.

“There’s no point in playing games,” Baldwin continued. “You know why we’re here. Clearly you know where she is.”

Domenico smiled from his perch.

“She’s human.” Marcus could stay silent no longer. “If you have interfered with her in any way….”

“Interfered? No, no, I would not dream of interfering in the lives of humans. I made her an offer, and I left.”

“An offer?” Baldwin asked.

Another smile, followed with a near whisper. “Of immortality.”

Before Marcus could make a move, Baldwin leapt halfway up the staircase and raced to the spot where Domenico stood, his hand gripping the throat of his rival.

“She came to _me_.” Domenico’s words were choked, his voice rasping. “I have done nothing but grant her wish.”

“For your sake, you had better be lying,” Baldwin threatened.

“Baldwin!” The soft voice came from across the house on the other side of the balcony.

Baldwin turned toward the fragile sound, his hand still gripping Domenico’s throat. Estella was standing there, her skin paler than he had ever known it to be. Her voice weak, pained. “No,” he whispered.

“Please let him go,” she said.

Baldwin turned back to meet Domenico’s gaze before releasing him. He turned once more to the woman he had known, but she was gone. Before he realized it, she had moved all the way around the balcony to where he stood. She was suddenly a mere five feet away from him. She reached out.

“Little one, do not touch him,” Domenico commanded, but, defiantly, her fingers inched closer.

“Don’t,” Baldwin whispered to her. “It’s too soon.”

Estella froze on the spot and obeyed. She looked down, immense sadness in her face.

“What have you done to her?” Baldwin spat.

“I gave her what she wanted,” Domenico replied. “A way to be with _you_ , forever.”

Baldwin clenched his jaw. He knew exactly what this meant. “What do you want from me, Domenico?”

Domenico smiled. “What’s that I hear in your voice, _signore_? Is that defeat? The great Roman warrior cut down in battle because of a woman?”

“You fucking bastard,” Baldwin whispered.

Domenico chuckled under his breath. “Checkmate.”

Baldwin turned away from him, back to Estella. The beauty she had possessed as a human was now ethereal. Her dark hair was perfect in long waves. Her green eyes sparkled with flecks of gold that he had never seen before. She was taller, of course. Her lithe body could only mold perfectly to his now.

Baldwin stared into her eyes. A single, red tear stained her cheek. “Has he hurt you? Mistreated you in any way?”

She struggled to shake her head slowly, her newfound vampire strength clearly overwhelming her. “I’m sorry, Baldwin. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way.” She laughed through her sadness and rolled her eyes. “I had … such plans … so many ways to tell you.”

“Why did you do this?” he implored.

“He told me you loved me. Did he lie to me?”

Baldwin closed his eyes and turned his face to the floor.

“If I was wrong,” Domenico began, “all you have to do is walk away. She is my daughter, and you owe me nothing.”

Baldwin looked below where Marcus still waited, at the ready, in the massive open room. Then he turned slowly, back to the man who had finally found a way to best him.

“You will teach her everything she needs to survive,” he ordered.

“You know that I will,” Domenico replied.

“God help you if you fail her,” Baldwin warned.

Domenico smiled once more. “You will see her again in ninety-five days. When you come for her, I will inform you of what it is I want from the de Clermonts. If you agree, she will be yours from that moment.”

 _Ninety-five_ , he thought, deciphering Domenico’s timetable. She was only five days old. Five days earlier, they could have stopped him. The realization tore through Baldwin, and he knew that the only creature who had failed her was him.

He turned to her one last time. “I will return on your one hundredth day.”

She smiled. “I have your word on that?”

“No power on earth will keep me away,” he promised.

Marcus climbed into the boat behind his uncle and silently watched him as they sped away.

“If you have something to say, Marcus, spill it,” Baldwin snapped.

“I just, never thought I’d see the day,” Marcus said.

Baldwin met his gaze.

“You don’t have to say it. I know the words will be reserved for her only. But you do love her.”

Baldwin paused. “If that were all it was, it would be so simple.”

Marcus’s eyes widened. “Are you…? Is she…?”

Baldwin sighed. “Marcus, I know you are aware of how intense the mating instinct can be.”

“I am,” Marcus replied, though he wasn’t sure he should speak at all in the middle of this confession.

“The only scent on her was Domenico’s. I should have killed him where he stood for that offense only.”

Eager to refocus his uncle’s energy, Marcus said, “What about her scent? Surely she carries her own.”

Baldwin closed his eyes. “Moonflower,” he said. “Winter air, crisp and pure.”

Marcus smiled.

“What?” Baldwin asked in exasperation.

“You’re fire; she’s air,” Marcus explained. “Fire can’t burn without it.”

Baldwin smiled then, a completely unexpected reaction.

“You will have her,” Marcus assured him. “In three months, this will all be over, and she will be yours forever.”

“But at what cost?” Baldwin asked.

“Whatever it is,” Marcus began, “is she worth it?”

Baldwin’s eyes met Marcus’s. “Yes. But I have no intention of giving him anything.”

As they arrived back at the airport, Baldwin began issuing his commands. “We’re going to Sept-Tours,” he said. “I’ll phone Ysabeau. Get hold of Matthew and Diana and have them meet us there.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Estella remembers her arrival in Venice. Baldwin seeks the help of his family.

Estella looked around her gilded cage. The whole house was dimly lit, but her room was the darkest. She had to admit she liked it that way. Everything in the world was too bright and harsh for her now, and Domenico did his best to soften every blow. Domenico. Her _father_.

She had traveled to Venice in the company of his eldest son, who had taken her straight from the airport to the house that she hadn’t left since. Domenico greeted her in the main hall and led her upstairs.

Walking past all the closed doors, she wondered if the rooms beyond them were all occupied by his children. Or perhaps he lived alone in the enormous house. At that moment, she felt certain she would never know.

Domenico opened the door to her room, and stood back, allowing her to enter first. The furnishings took her breath away. The ornate, gold bed with its pale blue, silk linens was from the Rococo – no, Baroque - period. She had to admit she got the two confused. The dresser, a sofa, and a pair of high back chairs complemented it perfectly.

He had given her a corner room, the long, narrow windows facing both the front of the house and the side. “Are all the rooms in your home this beautiful?” she asked, walking around and taking it all in.

“I wanted you to have the largest and most comfortable room, since you will be spending a lot of time here.”

She turned to face him, stopping in front of the bed.

“Is it still your desire to become a vampire?” he asked.

She had pondered it at length ever since their first meeting, and the truth was, there was no changing her heart, no going back to the life she had known. She would find a new normal once she and Baldwin … once she saw him again.

“Yes,” she replied. “Come what may.”

Domenico had smiled kindly, then descended on her with all his speed and strength. He pushed her backward, pinning her to the bed beneath him, and for a brief moment, her body tried to fight him. Her heart pounded so fast she thought it would explode, her fear crippling her to the point of immobility.

The moment he bit into her skin, she felt pain that, almost immediately, was replaced with numbness. She could no longer move, and still he held her down, drinking what he needed in order to do what he must. As she drifted toward blissful unconsciousness, she was certain she heard him moan.

When he put his wrist to her mouth, she slowly came to, feeling the thick liquid touch her lips, her tongue. The taste of metal, like coins. Copper … the shade of Baldwin’s hair.

_Baldwin._

She reached up and grabbed Domenico’s wrist, holding it fast and drinking her fill.

“That’s it, little one,” he whispered in her ear.

Every inch of her body tingled, and her scientific mind could only imagine the chemical changes occurring within. Each cell mutating one by one, becoming preternatural. Her DNA being recoded with Domenico’s ancient blood.

She felt his weight lift as he turned over onto his back beside her, removing his wrist from her mouth. It was done. She was his.

After that, he had not allowed anyone else near her. He alone held the key to her room, and he visited her twice a day, allowing her at first to feed from him, then bringing her small animals and teaching her to feed from them instead. He helped her learn to manage her newfound strength. He brought her books to help pass the time.

Domenico had been with her that day when Baldwin arrived. He had cautioned her to be silent, but in his haste, he hadn’t locked her door. The sound of Baldwin’s voice was her undoing, and when she heard him attack her maker, she could not stop herself. The blood in her veins charged her to intervene.

Then, once she saw him again, it had taken every ounce of her strength not to run into his arms. And even though there was something deep inside her demanding that she obey when her father told her not to touch him, it was Baldwin she had responded to.

_Always._

~

Baldwin sat in the salon at Sept-Tours surrounded by the people he trusted most in the world, even if he didn’t always admit it.

Ysabeau held court on his right; Marcus sat at his left. Matthew and Diana had recently arrived from Les Revenants, and after getting the twins settled for their naps in Matthew’s tower, they, too, had joined them. Marthe sat with them, as well. He wanted her present for what he had to say. Glasses of wine had also been poured, each family member preferring a different varietal.

“All right, Baldwin, you have our attention,” Matthew said, the slightest hint of exasperation in his tone.

One corner of Baldwin’s mouth turned upward and his eyebrow raised. “I’ll come straight to the point, then. Domenico has declared war on the de Clermonts.”

Everyone in the room stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Especially Marcus who clearly had not expected that to be the first thing out of his mouth.

Diana was the first to speak. “How is that even possible? The Congregation have been discussing business these past few weeks via e-mail, and he’s never given me any indication that he….”

“No, he wouldn’t have,” Baldwin interrupted. “Domenico’s target is me.”

“If I may, Uncle,” Marcus said, eager to settle the confusion that had descended on the room. Baldwin nodded.

Matthew looked from Baldwin to Marcus, as his son addressed him directly.

“Matthew, you know that I had a colleague in our lab in Cambridge. A human by the name of Estella Thorne.”

At the mere mention of her name, Baldwin paled, and he noticed that Matthew caught the change in him at once.

“She and Baldwin…” Marcus went on.

“We were involved,” Baldwin finished. “I ended it.”

“Estella didn’t take it well,” Marcus bit out. He shook his head. “I’ve never seen a human so lost over the end of a relationship.”

Baldwin lowered his head. Regret had become his constant companion.

“Domenico,” Marcus continued, “took the opportunity to gain the upper hand. He turned Estella.”

“He _turned_ her?” Diana was incredulous. “Against her will?”

“No,” Baldwin replied. “He told her I loved her. Convinced her she could be with me forever if she let him turn her. She agreed.”

Baldwin looked up at Matthew, who hadn’t looked away from him or moved in any way for several minutes.

“Why did you end your involvement with her?” Matthew asked him calmly.

Baldwin stared into his brother’s eyes. “The same reason you tried to walk away from Diana.”

The complete absence of sound, save for the ticking of a clock on the far wall, told Baldwin that everyone understood.

“So there it is.” He broke the silence. “Domenico has taken my mate and made her his daughter. He won’t let her go unless I give him what he wants.”

“Which is?” Diana asked.

“He hasn’t yet revealed it, although I suspect it must entail the complete cooperation and support of the de Clermont family in all things. Perhaps even making him the head of the Congregation. His plan is to drive me insane with need for her until she is of age, and then when I _can_ see her again, he’ll twist the knife with whatever outrageous demand he has so that I have two choices: give him what he wants, or go to war with his family. I intend to get Estella out of there and remove Domenico’s head from his shoulders.”

“Baldwin, I can bring him before the Congregation,” Diana said. “What he’s done is a crime. The only member who will side with him will be Gerbert.”

“I’m sorry, Diana. I’m afraid this is personal,” Baldwin countered. “When I kill him, you can tell the Congregation why.”

“You’re going to need assistance,” Matthew said. “Domenico will never play fair. He’ll have all his children involved.”

“I know,” Baldwin replied.

“I’ve offered to rally the Knights,” Marcus said to Matthew.

“And I have refused that offer,” Baldwin said.

“Then how can we help?” Matthew asked.

Baldwin looked up at his brother. It might have been that Matthew simply felt indebted to him and wanted to return the favor, but he sensed it was something more. And he had to admit that the idea of an … alliance with Matthew was not unwelcome.

“I’m still going over every possible scenario. If I make a wrong move, I have no doubt that he’ll kill her without thinking twice. As long as I know that I have your support, I can plan my attack.”

He looked from Matthew, whose demeanor was kind and supportive, to Diana who was clearly convinced that anything he tried would be crazy, to Ysabeau who looked proud of him for the first time in his life, to Marthe who had always been proud of him, and to Marcus who mirrored Matthew. He felt it then. Family.

“You are Philippe’s son,” Ysabeau said suddenly, standing and raising her wine glass to him. “You will rescue your mate. You will succeed.”

Baldwin clenched his jaw and fought back emotions he never thought he’d feel. He nodded in gratitude and raised his own glass to her in return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As outlined in "Time's Convert", a new vampire should be separated from their mate for a minimum of ninety days or risk losing themselves in the bond.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected rescue plan emerges.

Two weeks into her new life, Estella had become an expert at hunting the animals which were now dumped into her room as if she were a snake in a terrarium. From rats, to squirrels, to rabbits, to cats, she studied the way they moved and learned how to attack.

Shortly after that, she began to feel desire like she had never known before. Her lust for Baldwin hit her in waves so overwhelming that on her seventeenth day she shed every stitch of clothing and laid in bed for hours desperate to soothe what could never be satisfied.

It wasn’t until her fiftieth day that Domenico took her out of the house teaching her how to hunt in the wild. And while she paid attention and obeyed every command, in truth, she felt no loyalty to him or his family. He entrusted her to no one, which she realized was only because of what he would gain once he gave her to Baldwin.

She had known nothing about him before she saw it all in his blood. He was a rival to the de Clermonts, and it became clear to her that his motivations were about hurting the family. Baldwin just happened to be the head of that family.

And there she was. A pawn in a game of chess. Her humanity stolen from her by someone only interested in hurting the man she loved. She meant nothing to him, exactly the way she had meant nothing to her human father. What a fool she had been. She might have Baldwin, but what price would he pay for it? What about those he loved and protected? She was ashamed of what she had done, having only thought of herself.

But she did as told, never questioning anything Domenico asked of her. She would learn everything she could from him about who she had become and what blood now flowed through her veins. And she waited, hoping that one day she would convince him to be lenient enough for her to escape. It was the only way to save Baldwin.

~

On Estella’s seventieth day, Diana had had enough. Matthew found her in their bedroom putting together a backpack with only a few necessities. She turned and caught him standing in the doorway watching her.

“What are you planning, _ma lionne_?” He folded his arms as a sly smile crept across his face.

“Baldwin should have told us the plan by now,” she said, “which means he still doesn’t have one.”

“And you do?”

“A witch flew into Sept-Tours and took me without any vampire knowing. If someone is going to infiltrate Domenico’s home without detection, it’ll have to be me. It’s the one thing he won’t see coming.”

“Will you tell Baldwin first?”

Diana looked at her husband and sighed. “Matthew … his judgement is clouded. The reason he hasn’t come up with a plan….”

“Is because he cannot think straight with his mate in danger,” Matthew concluded. “A feeling I know all too well, _mon coeur_. And I don’t have to tell you how dangerous Estella might be. A baby vampire confronted with a warmblood.”

“No, you don’t have to tell me. I think Estella is the least of my worries, though.” She paused and looked him in the eye. “You know I’ll be careful.”

“I do,” he replied without hesitation.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. If anything goes wrong….”

“If you’re not home by tomorrow morning, Baldwin and I will be coming after you both.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed. She threw the backpack over her shoulder and went to him. “Now, kiss me good-bye.”

~

Estella lay in bed just after the sky had turned to black. The first time she heard the tap, she was sure she had imagined it. Even with her baby vampire senses, it had been merely a whisper of a sound.

_tap_

She looked at the window this time but saw nothing.

_tap_

The third time, she rose as silently as she could. If Domenico sensed anything was out of order, he would be in her room in a flash. She walked to the window on the side of the house so slowly and carefully that she couldn’t believe she had done it. As she looked out, her mouth opened, and she stifled a gasp.

A woman, one of the most beautiful she had ever seen, with blond hair that flowed all around her and blue eyes with traces of gold was floating outside her window. Estella knew this woman was a witch, and she knew in her heart that she was Diana Bishop.

Diana turned her eyes toward the lock on the narrow doors that led out to a tiny balcony. Having no key to unlock it, Estella shook her head. Diana raised her hand in front of her and began to speak without any sound. Before Estella’s eyes, the lock sprung and the doors opened. Everything happened so silently that she wondered if she had suddenly lost her hearing.

Estella moved to the open doors as she watched Diana put on a pair of gloves. Once the gloves were in place, the witch reached out to her, and she gladly took her hands. As she stepped out onto the balcony, Diana closed the doors, latching them again as if they had never opened.

Estella climbed to the top of the railing, holding fast to Diana’s hands. Then she stepped into the witch’s arms. The moment she was secure, Diana flew them away from the house as fast as she could.

~

It was late afternoon when Baldwin came down from his tower. He spent nearly every minute now up there, searching for the right course of action. There was no scenario, no idea he had that would work one hundred percent in his favor, no strategy where he could guarantee her safety.

He could almost feel Philippe watching him, berating him in some oh-so charming way for not finding the answer. Unable to stand it a moment longer, he descended the stairs in search of a bottle of wine. Just before he reached the bottom, he sensed Matthew’s presence.

“Why are you skulking around?” he asked his brother impatiently.

Matthew smiled as he stepped into view. “I didn’t think you’d want me climbing up your tower.”

“So you decided to just wait here,” Baldwin said. He had mustered a fair bit of ire, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“How’s it going?” Matthew asked casually.

Baldwin sighed. “Not well.”

“Not so easy, is it?”

“What?”

“Keeping your mind clear when your mate is in danger.”

Baldwin closed his eyes to still his frustration. When he opened them again, he had regained his composure. “No,” he admitted. “There is no way. No way to be sure I can get her out of there.”

“What if I told you there was a way?” Matthew asked him.

Before he could respond, Baldwin heard Marthe opening the front door. With lightning speed, he rushed to her side and stopped dead as he saw Diana standing there with Gerbert … and Domenico.

“Diana,” he began with a smile, “to what do we owe this visit from the Congregation?”

Diana stepped inside, and Gerbert did not hesitate to follow her. Domenico followed, as well, looking around suspiciously.

“Baldwin,” Gerbert said. “Domenico believes that you have something of his.”

Baldwin looked at Domenico with barely contained rage. “Gerbert, I can assure you that he is mistaken. But if he decided it was important enough to come to my family’s home and pay me a visit, that can only mean one thing.” He stepped closer to the vampire with the dark eyes, close enough to touch, close enough to kill. “Where is she?”

Domenico stared him down. “Last night, I left her in her locked room. I am the only one with a key. This morning she was gone.”

“You lock her up?”

“A baby vampire can be a danger to herself if not kept in a controlled environment.”

“Perhaps, though it’s more likely you did it so that your precious asset could not be stolen. However, it seems as though she’s too clever for you.” Baldwin smiled and backed away from him.

“I do not know where Domenico’s newest daughter is,” he said to his guests. “I made an agreement to come for her on her one hundredth day. In exchange for her freedom, Domenico wanted something from me, but since it seems that she has somehow freed herself, I don’t believe our agreement stands.”

“I don’t know what you’ve done with her, but I will find her. She belongs to me.” Domenico’s fury was palpable.

“You are her sire. You tricked her into letting you turn her. But you do not own her.”

At these words, Matthew entered the room and reached the front door in a fraction of a second. He stood behind Baldwin and watched Domenico carefully.

Gerbert spoke then. “Domenico, you know her scent. Is she here?”

“No,” Domenico spat, his eyes now focused on Matthew. “She’s never been here. And he hasn’t touched her.”

“Then I think that we should trouble the de Clermonts no further today,” Gerbert concluded. He nodded ever so slightly to Baldwin, disregarding Matthew completely, and headed out the door. Domenico stared at them both before walking out behind him.

Diana looked at her brother with the tiniest of smiles, gave Matthew a quick nod, and followed the vampires out, returning the house to its peaceful state.

Baldwin listened as two cars left the courtyard and sped off down the drive. The moment he knew for certain they were gone, he turned to Matthew with controlled fury.

“Before we were interrupted, you were about to tell me something.”

“Baldwin, she’s safe.”

The elder brother raised his brow, his eyes demanding an explanation.

“Diana took a private plane to Venice yesterday at dusk. After dark, she _flew_ out to Domenico’s home. She got Estella out of there.”

“Where is she now?”

“Diana met with Phoebe, who just happened to be in Venice working on your collection. She delivered Estella to her, and the two of them took another private flight, straight to Boston. They’ll be at Marcus’s home in Hadley very soon, under the protection of the Knights.”

“Diana did all this. Without my knowledge.”

“She knew the first thing Domenico would do was come here.” Matthew chuckled. “The fact that he got Gerbert _and_ Diana and brought them here was more than we could’ve hoped for.”

Baldwin’s eyes were suddenly murderous. “You all knew. A plan was concocted to rescue my mate, and no one thought to include me!”

“I was about to tell you, even though Diana felt it was important for you to know nothing of the plan. I think she was right. You answered truthfully when confronted.”

“I am the strategist in this family!” Baldwin’s voice echoed against the stone walls. “And she’s my mate,” he added, looking away.

“And you could not devise a plan that you believed would succeed,” Matthew explained. “I understand this all too well, since without your plan, we might never have found Diana alive at La Pierre. We might never have found her at all.”

Defeated, Baldwin sat down hard in the nearest chair, his weight sending a cracking sound through the antique wood. “Philippe,” he said. “He saved Ysabeau himself.”

“With an army behind him,” Matthew reminded him. “No one knew she would be his mate. No one was purposely keeping her away from him. The moment you attacked, Estella might have been killed.”

“I should have been able….”

“It is _not_ the same thing, Baldwin. You have not failed her. She is safe, and you will be with her soon.”

When he looked up at Matthew, his eyes had softened. She was safe and it did not matter how. He was suddenly indebted to so many. _Family._ “When can I see her?”

“When I spoke with Marcus earlier, he said Phoebe explained to her that you would arrive on her ninetieth day, and on that day she could make her decision whether to accept you as her mate.”

The corner of Baldwin’s mouth turned slowly upward. “By the book,” he said. “Domenico will be watching me.”

“If Domenico dares to confront you once the two of you are mated…” Matthew began.

“Then that day will be his last,” Baldwin finished. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and pressed Phoebe’s contact button.

“This better be about your art collection,” Phoebe said as she answered the call.

Matthew smirked and nodded to his brother before heading out to return to Les Revenants.

“Phoebe,” Baldwin began, trying to keep his temper in check, “I would like to speak to Estella, please.”

“I believe you know the rules,” she said.

“And I believe you broke them several times to speak with Marcus before you were ninety days old.”

Phoebe sighed. Baldwin smirked.

“Fine. I’ll get her,” she said.

“Phoebe,” he said suddenly, “I need you to know how grateful I am for what you did to help her. And thank you for caring for her these last days. If you need anything at all, do not hesitate….”

Phoebe sighed again, stopping him. “It was my pleasure. She’s been through a lot, and she’s family. I will do everything I can for her.”

The line was silent for several seconds until….

“Baldwin?” Estella’s voice was low, breathy.

Emotions raced through him, filling him. “Thank the gods you’re safe.”

“Your sister is extraordinary,” she said.

Baldwin chuckled. “That’s certainly the general consensus. Do you need anything, darling?”

“Just you,” she said. “Christ … the longing…. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”

“I know,” he said. “We only have a few days left. And then, if you choose me, we will never be forcibly separated again.”

“ _If_ I choose you?”

“You are absolutely free to leave me, Estella,” he replied. “You do not have to commit yourself….”

“You complete ass,” she said. Baldwin closed his eyes and smiled, imagining the looks on Marcus and Phoebe’s faces when she said it.

“Why do you think I did this?” Estella asked him. “I left behind everything I knew and worked for. I trusted Domenico. I put your family at risk. All because of my selfish need for _you_. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”

Baldwin ached to confess his deepest thoughts, tell her precisely how he felt about her in great detail. “I will be at your side in nineteen days,” he promised.

He could hear her smile. “Nineteen days,” she confirmed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two lovers are reunited at last, and newfound intimacy brings revelations.

Estella’s ninetieth day began like any other. She went hunting with Phoebe in the woods near the farmhouse in Hadley. The two female vampires had become fast friends since the night Diana had delivered her to Phoebe in Venice. Phoebe had been welcoming from the moment they met, when she whisked her away to the airport to catch their flight to Boston.

With her own experience still so fresh in her mind, Phoebe had filled in all the blanks for Estella about being a newly-made creature, and Estella had found a connection with her unlike any she had ever known before.

As they walked back from the woods, only one thing occupied Estella’s mind. Baldwin’s arrival was imminent, and she could not keep her nerves in check.

“What is it like to see your mate again, knowing that you’ll never have to endure another separation?” she asked.

Phoebe smiled. “Intense … but that’s the understatement of the century. As you know, _you’ll_ be expected to choose. He won’t go to you first. But when you do choose him….”

“Better than before?” Estella smiled.

Phoebe stopped walking and turned to her new friend. “You’ve told me he never considered what you had to be a relationship, that he left before you even knew how you felt about him.” Estella nodded. “Being with him now, knowing that he is entirely yours….” Phoebe trailed off as if there were no words to describe it. “Even he has no idea what he’s going to feel when he sees you. Let your instincts guide you. Don’t be afraid. He will never hurt you again.”

They were only fifteen yards from the house when Estella saw a sleek, black Mercedes pull into the drive. Marcus walked out onto the porch to greet his uncle, and Phoebe put a hand on Estella’s arm.

“I know you want to run to him.” She chuckled. “But it’s not that far away. We’ll walk together. Let him see you. Watch his eyes when he does. You deserve to have this moment.”

Baldwin got out of the car, and his eyes immediately caught the two women walking toward the house, walking toward _him_. He stopped, eyes resting on Estella.

Taking Phoebe’s advice, Estella walked slowly and did her best to take it all in. With her vampire eyes, he had never looked more perfect to her. His hair caught the sunlight, and the copper hue she had fallen in love with now held a hundred shades of red and gold, which seemed to spark and catch fire. His eyes - that impossible amber - bore straight into her soul, and she knew without a doubt that he was hers.

Finally reaching him, she breathed him in deeply, his scent intoxicating her in a thousand different ways. She laughed, fighting back the crimson tears that threatened to spill over.

He smiled. “What is it, darling?”

“That infuriating scent of yours. I tried everything to get it to go away. Now I just want it forever.”

Baldwin shut his eyes and exhaled slowly.

She closed the last bit of distance between them and delicately touched his arms. “I choose you,” she said softly.

He took her hands in his. “I am your servant, your.…”

“My _partner_ ,” she corrected. “The other half of my soul.”

Baldwin nodded and leaned toward her. She met him halfway, their lips at once locked in a searing kiss.

It was several minutes before she became aware of the other two creatures present, looking up as Marcus led Phoebe to their own car.

“There are two rooms upstairs,” Marcus said to Baldwin. “Try not to use ours, please.”

Estella gasped and giggled.

“We’ll be back later tonight.” Marcus jumped in the car, and the two of them drove away, leaving the couple alone at last.

When she looked back at Baldwin, she discovered that his gaze had never left her. “You’re early,” she said.

“Am I?” he asked. “This is your ninetieth day, correct?”

“Yes, but you could’ve let me know what time you were coming. I would have changed, done my hair….”

“You’re perfect,” he said. “And I didn’t want to spend another minute without you, so, for not announcing my time of arrival, I beg your forgiveness.”

He had silenced her with words, and she couldn’t do anything other than smile contentedly.

“Baldwin…” she finally said, wrapping her arms around him.

“Estella…” he breathed, leaning down to place the most tender kiss on her neck.

“Are you ready for this?” she asked him.

He looked into her eyes and swept her up in his arms. He carried her into the empty house and up the stairs to the room that would be theirs. Setting her feet back on the floor, he asked, “Are _you_ ready for this? You’ve been through so much….”

She put a finger to his lips. “If you love me, I’m ready for anything.”

He kissed her finger and took her hand in his. “With my whole heart, my body, and my soul, I love you, Estella.”

Her breath caught as she stared into his startling eyes. “Then make me yours.”

The world stopped turning and time stood still the moment his lips touched hers. No kiss she had ever received mattered as much as this one. In it, she felt the magnitude of his need for her. His tenderness took her breath away. Every move he made was slow, deliberate, and she followed his lead.

They had spent hours, _days_ in each other’s arms, but he had never made love to her. She knew that now, because _this_ was love. Every caress, every careful movement. The way he entered her, inch by inch, staring into her eyes, enjoying every second, and the way her body pulled him in, claiming him as her own. They reached the end as one, and Estella watched as a single, red tear made its way down Baldwin’s face.

~

“I have a confession,” Baldwin said to her as they lay together late in the night.

Estella turned over in his arms, meeting his gaze, concern etched in her features.

“The night I left you … I knew what was happening to me. The moment I felt you enter my heart, I decided to let you go.”

She waited, but he did not offer more. “Why?” she asked, seeking to encourage him.

“To give you back your life,” he replied. “How selfish would I have been if I had allowed you to fall in love with me? A man who could never grow old with you, could never give you children.”

She shook her head and gave him a sad smile. “You were too late. I was already in love with you. And all you had to do was ask me if I wanted those things. I would’ve told you that I didn’t.” She touched his face. “I thought you didn’t want a woman who would be dead before….”

He put a finger to her lips to stop her. “Please forgive me for what I said that night. I wanted you to hate me, then forget me.”

“Would you have come back for me, eventually?” she asked him.

He shook his head. “No. I would have kept my distance until you found a man who loved you and married him. When I was sure you were happy, I would have allowed myself to see you again. But you would never have seen me. I would have kept track of you all your days, and if you ever wanted for anything, I would have made sure it was yours. I would have been near you when you passed from this world. I would have lain beside your grave. And I would have mourned you for the rest of my life.”

She lost herself in the intensity of his words, her heart releasing just one, heavy thud the moment he was through. In the silence, she finally smiled. “Isn’t this better?”

Baldwin exhaled slowly and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, she was still staring at him.

“You think you know everything, don’t you?” she asked him. “You think I would’ve let you go, moved on, got married … _settled_ for someone else?” She shook her head. “So damned arrogant. Even then, I would’ve loved you to my last breath. My last word would’ve been your name.”

She saw so many things in his eyes then that she knew were impossible for him to say. It was time to take the next step.

“Don’t tell me,” she said. “ _Show_ me.”

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, then softened in admiration.

“It can be overwhelming,” he said, causing her to laugh.

“Or so you’ve heard,” she teased.

He smiled and shook his head. “Yes … so I’ve heard. I’ve lived a long time. There are so many things you don’t know about me.”

“Do _not_ be afraid of what I might see in your past. I know you’ve killed. I know you’ve left utter destruction in your wake. I know you’ve taken countless women to your bed. I know all these things already. There is nothing in your past that could make me hate you, nothing that could make me jealous of anyone else, living or dead.”

“All right,” he conceded. “But don’t be surprised if _I’m_ the one who ends up jealous and wanting to kill every other man who ever touched you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a romantic. Who goes first?”

“After you,” he said, inviting her.

She leaned over his chest, carefully placed her mouth to the streak of blue leading to his heart, and sank her sharp teeth into his skin. He gasped with pleasure, a pleasure that she felt in his blood as it flowed onto her tongue. Two millennia of emotions and memories flooded her mind and her heart. The brightest moments were with Philippe, who had been the one person Baldwin adored and idolized in his long life.

When she came back down from the high, he was staring at her, searching her face for any sign of what she was feeling.

“Christ…” she said. “Your taste….”

“My turn,” he said, flipping her over so fast he caught her off guard. His teeth were under her skin before she could react, and she gasped, arching off the bed and into his waiting arms.

True to his word, before he finished, he pulled her beneath him, burying himself inside her and holding her tight.

“Mine,” he growled into her skin as he drank.

She smiled at his possessive display. “Always.”

~

“Did he give you a name, love?” Baldwin asked as the sun crept through the window the next morning.

“Who?” she asked. “Domenico? Should he have given me a name?”

“Bastard,” Baldwin muttered. “As your sire, it was his responsibility, his … privilege.”

“He must not have cared to do so,” she said coldly, knowing full well he never cared about her at all.

“It doesn’t matter,” he assured her. “You will choose your own name. Names that are meaningful to you alone.”

“Will I still be a Thorne? Do I have to use _his_ name?” she asked.

“No,” he replied, his tone bitter before he proudly added, “you are a de Clermont now.”

Estella grinned with pride. “Then we’ll start there.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An inevitable confrontation.

Night had fallen once again. Marcus and Phoebe, having agreed that they’d been evicted from their own home long enough, had come back inside at some point during the day. Baldwin and Estella could hear them talking downstairs.

“This house is entirely too small for more than one couple,” Baldwin said.

“I agree,” came Marcus’s response from the floor below them.

Estella laughed. “Maybe we should get out of bed.”

“I think you’re right. We can go anywhere you’d like, anywhere in the world.”

“Anywhere but Venice,” she said. “I don’t care if I never see it again.”

“If I could drown it any faster for you, I would,” he said sincerely.

She laughed again. “What a thing to say! The poor people who live there….”

“Should move,” he said. “It’s time they got out.”

“Baldwin!” Marcus called. The urgency in his voice was unmistakable.

“Something’s wrong.” Like a shot, Baldwin was out of bed and getting dressed. Estella jumped up, dressed, and followed him down the stairs where Marcus was waiting.

“It’s Domenico,” Marcus told them. “And he’s not alone.”

Baldwin smiled. “I knew he couldn’t resist. Protect my wife. Leave him to me. Leave them all to me.”

He turned to Estella. She had fear in her eyes. “No matter what happens, stay in the house.”

“What if he…?” she began, and Baldwin knew she feared for his life.

“No matter what,” he said again.

She closed her eyes and nodded.

As he opened the door and walked out of the house, Baldwin became someone else, someone he had been centuries before. A bloodlust he had not felt since Philippe was captured engulfed him, and he was lost to it. Gone was the man in the tailored suits who used numbers to destroy empires. In his place was a warrior who would not stop until the battle was won and the enemy decimated.

Domenico stood a hundred feet away. Behind him were twenty of his children and grandchildren, his best and most trusted.

Baldwin laughed as he approached them. “Couldn’t face me alone?”

Domenico smirked. “This time, I _know_ you have something of mine. You are covered in her scent.”

Baldwin stared him down. “Yes, I am, and you should know that means you no longer have any claim on her. This is my nephew’s home, and you are trespassing on de Clermont land.”

“I suppose I am,” Domenico replied.

“Then, we are at war,” Baldwin said.

“We are,” his enemy confirmed.

Baldwin grinned viciously and turned to each of the vampires standing behind their sire. “You are all welcome to defend him, but you should know why you’re fighting.”

None of them dared to speak.

“Your father took the life of a human and made her one of us for the sole purpose of taking what is mine. He used her. And he would have thrown her away once he got what he wanted. But she broke free of him and the cage he put her in. Now we are mated. And any creature who moves against us I will personally put in the ground.”

The corners of Baldwin’s mouth turned upward, a smile intended to strike fear in every soul who saw it. “And in case you don’t know who I am…. My name is Lucius Sigéric Benoit Christophe Baldwin de Clermont, son of Philippe, head of the de Clermont family. I took the head of the Impaler, and I will be only too happy to take yours.”

One of the vampires turned to his offspring. The three of them paused for a moment, then took off at full speed, disappearing from view in an instant. A few moments later, two more vanished down the road to Hadley.

Baldwin laughed. “You’re down to fifteen, Domenico. And I haven’t even mentioned the other members of my family still in the house. You _are_ aware that my mate is also under the protection of the Knights of Lazarus.

Three more vampires looked at each other and sped off. The remaining twelve looked to their sire, awaiting instructions.

Domenico smiled. “You’ve done a lot of talking, Baldwin. What else are you going to…?”

Before he finished his sentence, Domenico’s eldest son rushed toward Baldwin, hoping to catch him off guard. Baldwin caught him with both arms, put a hand on either side of his head, and twisted with all his strength. The vampire was dead in two seconds, his body falling to its knees and slumping to the ground in front of his sire.

Domenico’s eyes widened in shock and fury as Baldwin stood there, holding the head in his hand before tossing it away.

Two other vampires - one male, one female - decided to take him on, enraged at the loss of their brother. The female charged, jumping into the air and landing on him, attempting, unsuccessfully, to knock him to the ground. Baldwin turned on her while dodging the blows of the other. He bit her, effortlessly tearing open her throat, then turned to the male, breaking his neck before removing his head exactly the same as before.

Blood ran down Baldwin’s chin, covering his white shirt, and he laughed again at Domenico.

“Are we done,” he said with a growl, “or should I kill them all?”

“Father!” one of them pleaded. Domenico flinched at the sound. Time seemed to stand still as he considered his options.

“It is finished,” he said to his children. “Go home.”

Three vampires came forward, their hands out in surrender. They knelt beside the bodies of their kin, pleading silently to be allowed to take them home. Baldwin nodded, watching them carefully.

The remaining vampires took off without another word. Domenico stood alone.

Baldwin walked over to him. “I know what you wanted was eternal power over my family. You will never have it.”

Domenico sneered. “I am the only reason you are with her now. She was a pitiful human who would have died in a matter of decades. Now she is your mate. I think you still owe me something.”

Baldwin raised his eyebrow. He had hoped to be rid of Domenico once and for all, but he knew that the vampire’s instinct for self-preservation was greater than any threat he might make. ”You’re still alive. Consider any debt we might have owed you paid in full. If you ever come near us again, you will not be so fortunate.”

Domenico stared at him for a brief moment before nodding respectfully and disappearing down the road.

In the silence of the open field, Baldwin could hear Estella inside the house, her slow heart pounding with worry and fear. He had shut her out completely as he fought, and now she came rushing back to him.

“Marcus,” Baldwin called toward the house.

Immediately, Marcus was standing on the porch, his eyes wide. Baldwin could only imagine the sight of himself standing there, blood drying on his chin, his neck, and his shirt. He nodded at his nephew, answering the unspoken question.

Marcus opened the door wider, and Estella raced outside, throwing her arms around her mate. She was unaffected by the blood that stained him, yet she trembled in his embrace.

“It’s all right, _cara mia_ ,” he whispered to her. “It’s over now.”

~

The bathroom Marcus had built into the house was modern and luxurious. The walls and lighting blended in with the two hundred fifty-year-old structure, as did the enormous copper tub he had installed. The separate shower was big enough for two, with mosaic tiling and a waterfall system.

Baldwin opened the glass door and stepped inside, turning on the water and setting the temperature. Steam began to rise almost immediately, and he set to work scrubbing the blood from his body.

A few minutes later, Estella opened the door and joined him. As the water poured down his back, he watched her, and she moved into his arms. Unwilling to meet his gaze, she focused on his bare chest, leaning in until her lips grazed his wet skin. He kissed the top of her head in response.

“I was so afraid,” she said.

“Look at me.” His voice was commanding but gentle. She obeyed. “You will never again have reason to fear anyone.”

She kissed him then, hard. Feeling her urgency, he put his hands in her hair and pulled her against him. Then he broke the kiss, stepping back and sitting down on the tiled bench seat behind him. He pulled her forward, and she straddled him, easily sheathing him inside her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I need you.”

He pulled back to capture her gaze once more and smiled. “Never apologize for that.”

~

In the aftermath, the four de Clermonts retreated to the living room. Marcus stoked the fireplace while Estella curled up in Baldwin’s embrace on the sofa. No one spoke for over an hour as the events of the evening began to fade into the late night hours.

“What happens now?” Marcus finally asked.

“Estella and I go back to Europe. I don’t think we’ll hear from Domenico again, but I will be prepared in case we do. I suppose he might inform the Congregation.”

“What will they do to you?” Phoebe asked.

Baldwin chuckled. “Every other vampire present heard Domenico state that we were at war. If Domenico tries to open an inquiry over the death of his offspring, Gerbert is the only member of the Congregation who will back him. I am … unconcerned.” He looked down at his mate.

“The only thing I _am_ concerned with,” he said sweetly, “is planning our wedding.” He placed a tender kiss on top of her head, and she looked up at him.

“Wedding?” she asked. “I thought we were already….”

“You should still have a formal ceremony,” Phoebe said, smiling at them. “de Clermonts do things according to tradition, don’t they, Baldwin?”

Baldwin smirked at her. “Always.”

“I’d be happy to help you find a dress,” Phoebe offered. “Diana might like to join us. We can go to Paris.”

“Paris?” Estella laughed nervously. “I always imagined my dress would come from the ‘Running of the Brides’ sale.”

“The what?” Baldwin asked.

“The ‘Running of the Brides’,” Estella repeated as if everyone should know what that meant. “There’s a store in downtown Boston where once a year brides queue up in the middle of the night with their friends, charge right in when they open the doors, and proceed to fight over all the dresses they’re getting rid of.”

Baldwin and Phoebe stared at Estella in horror.

“That’s monstrous!” Baldwin said.

“That’s Boston,” Estella and Marcus chimed, laughing.

“Well, you’ll do no such thing,” he declared. “You’ll go to Paris with Phoebe and Diana. Or London. Or anywhere else you choose, but you’ll be in a proper fashion house, not a dirty shop, fighting over discount dresses with humans.”

She reached up to stroke his hair and whispered seductively, “But I haven’t told you how much money you’d save.”

Marcus could not hold back his laughter.

Baldwin looked her in the eyes. “My darling, do you honestly think I give a damn about ten or even a hundred thousand dollars, pounds, or euros if it means your happiness? Also, think about what I get out of it: a bride who will walk to me, take my hand, and be mine forever, all while wearing a magnificent ensemble that I’ll be conspiring to get her out of all evening. I can’t think of anything more fun than that.”

Estella blinked. Her breath caught in her throat, and Baldwin grinned wickedly at the sound. She looked up at Phoebe. “Paris, it is.”


	10. Chapter 10

The Auvergne was beautiful on a warm, sunny day in late spring, as Estella and Baldwin celebrated the last step in their journey. Ysabeau and Marthe had adhered to the couple’s wishes: a small ceremony at Sept-Tours, followed by a feast in their honor.

Phoebe and Diana had taken Estella shopping for her wedding dress, and before they set out for Paris, Diana had mentioned a designer in Bordeaux she thought might be worth their time, and she had been right. Though, as Estella stood there, looking at herself in Ysabeau’s mirror, she wondered if she’d gone just a bit too far.

The dress she had chosen was made of gossamer-thin fabric in a champagne hue, every inch covered in delicate beadwork, ensuring that it would drape itself over every curve. The long sleeves covered her wrists, and the hemline reached the floor, extending even further behind her to give her a small train. However, the bodice was cut low, coming to a point just over her breastbone, and the back plunged as far as it possibly could without becoming indecent. A dazzling belt of white stones and pearls extended all the way around her waist, clasping at the small of her back.

Her dark hair had been styled up in an intricate chignon held together by several beaded barrettes that paired perfectly with her dress.

Diana smiled as she stood behind her. “What do you think?”

Estella sighed nervously. “I think Baldwin is going to have a few things to say to you two after the ceremony.”

Phoebe laughed. “He can say anything he likes, but deep down, he’s going to love you in it.”

“Oh, I have no doubt that he will. But he won’t like that everyone else is getting an eyeful.”

Estella watched Diana through the mirror as the witch stared at her. “What?” she asked.

“While you were having your measurements taken, I spoke with the designer, just in case you felt it was too much in the end.” Diana went to the armoire and pulled out a garment bag. She unzipped it carefully, revealing another piece of fabric identical to the dress she was wearing. There were jeweled clasps on either side at the top that matched her belt. The rest of the fabric cascaded far enough to create a train several feet long.

“Your cape, Madame de Clermont,” Diana said with a smile. “You can wear it loosely, only fastened at your shoulders, or you can also secure it into your belt to cover your back entirely. The choice is yours.”

Diana carefully attached the cape at the shoulders and fanned it out behind Estella to give her a full view.

As she admired her reflection, Estella sighed in relief, turning to both women. By vampire custom, Phoebe was her niece, but in Estella’s heart, she and Diana were both her sisters. “How can I ever thank you two enough for everything you’ve done for me?”

Diana smiled. “Just be happy. Both of you. A happy Baldwin will keep us all sane.”

Estella laughed out loud before turning back to the mirror one last time. “Let’s go with this look,” she said.

The ceremony was to take place in Ysabeau’s gardens, just as Estella had requested. There were no added flowers to detract from the spectacular beauty of those in bloom all around. Guests were sitting inside a circle of hedges, rows of chairs separated by an aisle in the middle.

Estella walked toward the assemblage carrying a petite bouquet of roses which Ysabeau had cut and arranged herself. She saw faces that were familiar and unfamiliar. Based on descriptions she had been given, Verin and Ernst and Freyja were there, along with Fernando, Matthew and Diana, Becca, Philip and Jack, Marcus and Phoebe, Miriam, Chris and Hamish. The Bishop-Clairmont scion filled one side of the aisle, while the de Clermonts occupied the other. Estella smiled, sure that they had done it unconsciously.

And there, at the end of the line, stood Baldwin in a new, tailored suit of charcoal gray, a perfect complement to the champagne shade she was wearing.

His eyes caught hers with laser focus, and he opened his mouth, exhaling deeply, as he looked her over. She grinned as she walked toward him, savoring the moment.

He reached out to her, and she reached back, their fingers touching well before they stood next to each other. Turning to face him, her cape wrapped around her, shielding her bare back from the gaze of all those present.

While wedding arrangements had been made, she had chosen her name, telling only her mate. Together, they had decided to use their full names in the ceremony, announcing hers to the family as they married.

“Estella Marguerite Althea Lucia Salome, do you take this man…?”

As their officiant revealed her secret, sounds of surprise and delight could be heard from their guests, eliciting a smile of pride from her mate.

“To love and to cherish, to honor and obey, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others all the rest of your days?”

She raised a defiant eyebrow at “obey”, but they had discussed it in detail and she followed it with a smirk. Obeying his commands would sometimes be necessary, and she had no objection to giving him the courtesy.

“I do,” she said, her eyes still fixed on his.

“Lucius Sigéric Benoit Christophe Baldwin, do you take this woman to love and to cherish, to honor and obey…?”

This time, an audible gasp came from the Bishop-Clairmonts, and they knew without looking that it had been Diana. It was all the couple could do not to laugh.

“I do,” Baldwin replied, his assertive tone assuring them all that he would have no trouble extending that same courtesy to his wife.

He gave her a wedding band fashioned from gold he had saved since the days of the Empire, and it sat beautifully on her finger next to the ten-carat, emerald-cut, white diamond he had given her upon their return to Sept-Tours.

When Estella took his hand to give him his own ring, he looked down, and his breath caught. Immediately, he recognized it as a ring that had belonged to Philippe. He looked up at Estella, and she smiled at him, glancing over at Ysabeau. Baldwin turned his gaze to his stepmother, who smiled and nodded.

“I pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant said, and with those words, Baldwin reached out to take Estella in his arms.

He put his hand against the small of her back beneath the cape, and suddenly his eyes were wide. A flicker of anger shot through them before possessiveness took over.

She gave him a smile and a shrug and wrapped her arms around his neck leaning in as if to say, Well, are you going to kiss me or not?

The growl that tore from his throat as his lips met hers immediately set her on edge, and she wondered if they would make it to the feast without disappearing to his tower first.

The answer was no.

He pulled her along behind him all the way to their bedchamber. Once they were inside with the door shut tight, Estella spoke first.

“You don’t like it?”

“Whether or not I like it is irrelevant,” he said.

“I realized when I put it on that it would be too much. Diana surprised me with the matching cape and saved the day.” She turned away from him and unhooked the belt at her back, taking hold of the cape and carefully trying to tuck it against her skin. “It can also be worn like this.” For all her preternatural grace, she still fumbled with the belt clasp that she couldn’t see.

Baldwin walked up behind her and calmly took the delicate fabric from her hands. Expertly, he gathered the material and secured it beneath the belt at her waist, draping the bottom to give her a proper train. With his task complete, he stepped back to look at her.

“It is not … _traditional_ ,” he said, “but it is beautiful.”

Estella sighed and closed her eyes. She felt him walk toward her and touch her chin. She looked up to meet his gaze. Again, he put his hand beneath the cape, possessively caressing the bare skin below the belt.

“If you wish to go to dinner in your wedding dress, the way it was intended to be worn, I will not stop you. I will never deny you the freedom to be who you are, because that is the woman I fell in love with. However … in my selfishness,” he paused, giving her a seductive smile, “I would beg you to wear it as it is now, because I want the view to be mine alone.”

She sighed again and smiled at him. “ _Je suis à votre commande, seigneur_.”

His eyes widened, and she knew she had caught him off guard. He softened as he realized that she had heard the words in his blood. She also knew that it was probably against some ancient rule to use the phrase in such a fashion and wondered if he would chastize her for it.

Baldwin growled again and pulled her against him, and she felt him instantly harden. “Madame de Clermont, you will accompany me to dinner, and afterward, we will return to continue this discussion.”

~

The feast was a celebration for the entire family. There were surprisingly few moments of tension for a de Clermont gathering, and Baldwin sat at the end of the long table with his bride at his right hand.

When he tapped his wine glass with a knife and rose to his feet, everyone quieted and looked to him.

“Family,” he began. “I’ve said it countless times….”

“Usually when reminding us who’s at the head of it,” Marcus quipped, raising laughter and nods of agreement from nearly everyone present.”

Baldwin cleared his throat and stared down his nephew. “I have said it countless times,” he repeated more forcefully, “but I’ve never understood what it truly means. Individuals bonded by blood are a family, but blood is not thick enough to keep a family together. It requires trust. Support. Love.” He looked down at his mate and found her smiling up at him. “It’s having each other’s back in battle. It’s a hundred thousand moments that, when put together, prove that you’re a part of something greater. Something unique. The de Clermonts are a dynasty that has stood the test of time, and war, and death.” His voice broke as he thought of Philippe, wishing his father could have been there to give his own toast. “But I have come to know that each and every one of you will be there should I need you, just as I will always be there for you. And that is what truly makes us family.”

Ysabeau stood and raised her glass, and a moment later, everyone else followed. “To family,” she said.

“To family!” they all shouted in unison.

~

Baldwin and Estella were the first to leave the party, retiring to their tower and leaving their guests to celebrate to their hearts’ content.

Once inside their chamber, Estella stood in the middle of the floor while Baldwin bolted the door. Then he turned, his eyes fixed on hers. He walked around her as she stood utterly still, waiting to see what he would do.

After circling twice, he stopped behind her and unhooked her belt, removing the cape from its constraints and then securing the belt again. He reached up to her shoulders and carefully unclasped it from the dress, removing the excess material and drawing it away from her. Carelessly, he threw it into a chair on the other side of the room. She heard him exhale heavily as he stared at her in just the dress for the first time.

Slowly, he walked toward her until she could feel his breath on her neck. First, he removed the barrettes holding her hair in place, and she felt it all tumble down on her skin. Then, he ran two, cool fingers down her spine, all the way down to where the fabric started again, at the last bit of skin that could be considered part of her back. With the tip of his middle finger, he circled the bare spot just above her ass, teasing the sensitive flesh, and she felt her knees go weak.

“Say it again.” His insistent voice was at her ear.

She closed her eyes. “ _Je suis à votre commande, seigneur_.”

He unclasped the belt for the last time, slowly pushed the dress down over her shoulders, and pulled her against him. His mouth met her neck, and she melted into his embrace.

~

In the middle of the night, Estella felt Baldwin fall asleep as she laid with her back against him, his powerful arm wrapped around her. She listened to him breathe for what felt like hours before she slipped out of his grasp and walked to the window. The moonlight poured in over her naked form as she stared down into the darkness of the rolling hills.

Eventually, she heard him as he crept up behind her, the same arm wrapping around her waist possessively, his body against her from behind. She leaned into him, touching his arm lovingly.

“I’m right here,” she said.

The face that had been nuzzling her neck drew back, and she knew the question on his mind. She turned in his embrace.

“I feel you,” she said. “Your need … your fear. You will never be without me again.”

“You can’t promise that.” He looked down, and she put her forehead against his. “I’ve never known what it’s like to need someone so much,” he said. “It’s terrifying.”

“You’ll just have to never let me out of your sight,” she teased, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Not practical, I’m afraid,” he said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. “You are already one of the bravest creatures I have ever known. I knew it the moment I met you, when you walked straight up to a vampire and held out your hand. But I will teach you to be a warrior. And if anyone dares to cross you, you will know how to defend yourself.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Will that alleviate your fear?”

He smiled. “Probably not. But it’s a beginning.”

She leaned toward him, and he captured her mouth with his. Both his hands went to her waist, and she felt it again, that powerful possessiveness. She marveled at it, and it kept her wondering how in the hell he had ever been able to walk away from her. As he ended the kiss, she smiled.

“What?” he asked, one corner of his mouth turning upward.

“You once told me you weren’t a prince, and you were right. You’re not.” She paused and ran her fingers through his copper hair. “You’re a king. _My_ king.”

Baldwin looked down at her, his eyes filled with pride and love. Then, he raised an eyebrow. “You are never going to let me forget that night, are you?”

She laughed. “Not for a thousand years.”

*****  
_The story continues in Elysium Lost_**


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